Saturday’s Game: Allegheny Gators (6-1, 3-1 NCAC) vs. Wooster (4-3, 3-1 NCAC)
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Opening Kickoff:
Saturday’s North Coast Athletic Conference battle of third-place teams Allegheny and Wooster is the 33rd meeting in a series that dates back to 1905. The Gators hold a slight 18-14 lead in the series, but the Fighting Scots posted a 35-21 victory at home last year. Four of the last six meetings have been won by the home team. Allegheny increased its winning streak to four games with a 21-18 win over Kenyon last week. Wooster has dropped two of its last three games, including a 37-27 decision to 18th-ranked Wabash on Saturday.
First meeting: 1905 (Wooster 39, Allegheny 16)
Last meeting: 2008 (Wooster 35, Allegheny 21)
Most points by one team: 1913 (Allegheny 116, Wooster 0)
Largest margin of victory: 1913 (Allegheny 116, Wooster 0)
Smallest margin of victory: 1984 (Allegheny 30, Wooster 29) | 1998 (Allegheny 40, Wooster 39 - OT)
Thank You Seniors:
Today’s contest marks the final home game for seniors C.J. Bell, Joseph Bennett, Josh Brannan, Owen Budavich, Tom Conrad, Rudy Devine, Doug Macik, Nick Mains, Erik Pollard, Nate Rojek, Andy Schleihauf, Nick Silva, Rodney Still, Mark Sutton, Jake Vite, Greg Waples and Kyle Wilson. In their four years, they have compiled a 22-15 overall record and a 14-11 mark in the conference while recording two winning seasons.
Last Week:
Defense wins games. Junior safety Sid Facaros proved just that on Saturday, scoring the game-winning touchdown at the 12:40 mark of the fourth quarter on a 16-yard interception return while Andy Schleihauf recorded a game-high 15 tackles to lead Allegheny past Kenyon, 21-18. T. J. Salopek completed 33 of 43 passing, going 22-for-29 in the first half alone to chalk up 252 yards and two touchdowns for the Gators.
Last Time We Played On Halloween:
Allegheny overcame a slow start to improve to 6-2 with a 27-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 31, 1998. Allegheny led 7-0 at the half on a three-yard scoring run by Shame Ream in the second quarter. Two Kevin Browser field goals, a Chris Miller touchdown run and Ream’s second score of the day provided the remainder of the scoring. Jeremy Snyder rushed for 94 yards, while Ream went for 70 yards. Tedd Gozur and LaMarcus Thurman each had two interceptions. That year, the Gators went 8-2 overall and had a 6-1 mark in the conference.
The Record Game:
The Gators are 72-37-2 all-time in final home finales. Allegheny has won 18 of the last 19 dating back to 1990 with the only loss coming in 2007 (17-6 vs. Wittenberg). Last year, the Gators defeated Ohio Wesleyan 10-7 in overtime on November 15 at Frank B. Fuhrer Field in the last game of the season.
Comparing Notes:
It will be a battle to see if Wooster can keep up its rushing yards per game average (191.7) or if the Allegheny defense can continue to hold opponents to just 94.9 rushing yards per game.
Statistically Speaking:
As a team, Allegheny paces the conference in turnover margin (0.86). The Gators have recovered four fumbles and made 12 interceptions, while only losing the ball five times to fumbles and five to interceptions. The five interceptions is the lowest in the NCAC. Cornerback Kyle Wilson ranks first in passes defended per game (1.50) and Terry Hartford is in the lead for punt return average (8.6 yards). Kicker Andrew DeJong is also first in punting, averaging 40.8 yards per punt which is good enough to rank seventh in the nation.Quarterback T.J Salopek is second in the conference in passing yards per game (251.1), ranking behind Wabash’s Matt Hudson (283.4). Salopek ranks 30th in Division III in passing efficiency (147.76).
Keep Climbing:
Andy Schleihauf keeps climbing the NCAA Division III statistics chart, going from 15th to 11th in the latest individual rankings in tackles per game. He is averaging 12.1 tackles per game. He led with 15 tackles against Kenyon and has posted double-digit tackles in six out of the seven games.
Comparing The Numbers:
In the last three games, the Gators have gone 11-for-13 (85%) in red-zone scores and is 10-for-13 (77%) in red-zone touchdowns compared to 8-for-13 (62%) in scores and 3-for-13 (23%) in touchdowns in the first four games. Allegheny has also improved its third-down percentage (39 to 43) and fourth-down percentage (12 to 33).